II) Before Beginning the Project - Writing Up The Proposal

Before beginning anything, you will need to obtain a copy of the so-called "Eagle Scout Service Project Workbook," which lays out the formal requirements you need to complete before, during and after the Project. The Troop maintains a supply of these; alternately, you can pick one up at the Council Office. Next, get a small notebook to immediately begin keeping track of your hours and critical notes; many Scouts forget to do this, and end up forgetting how many hours they put in during the planning stage (and, as detailed below, all hours put in on the project are important.) In addition, note that all hours count; for example, if you spend an hour talking with the Pastor and Building Manager of your Church, that's 3 man-hours of time, not 1.

Getting started is often a daunting task for many Scouts, for three reasons: First, many Scouts have little or no idea what they want to do for a Project; Second, most Scouts (and their Parents) have little or no idea what constitutes a legitimate Eagle Project; and Third, most Scouts have little or no idea how to draft up their idea into a proper proposal. [Note that our District holds one or two so-called "Life-to-Eagle Seminars" each year to try and answer these questions; if you have not attended one, you (and your Parents) should do so at your earliest opportunity. If this isn't practical, get a copy of the Life-to-Eagle Guidelines instructional guide which comes with the seminar (1997 cost was $5), and read and (eventually) discuss it with the Scoutmaster, Advancement Chairman or another, recent Eagle Scout and his parents.]

A comprehensive treatment of legitimate project ideas is beyond the scope of this guide; however, I will present some basic guidelines for your consideration. In general, an Eagle Scout Project is any project which benefits the local community - meaning a church, school, park, community center, any non-profit service organization (except the Boy Scouts of America), etc.; a list of Suggested Projects is on the Website, but is by no means to be considered as the limit of available Projects. Although not "hard" rules, the Project should: (A) Take a minimum of 100 man-hours outside of your planning time to complete; (B) Be accomplished in multiple, small-scale work sessions (as opposed to a one-day "all-hands" effort); and (C) Have most of the work done by people other than yourself. The 100 man-hour guideline is to ensure that the project is not a triviality, and the stipulation of "outside your planning time" precludes accusations of "padding your hours" in order to meet this (arbitrary) minimum. The guidelines of multiple, small scale work sessions using other volunteers to do most of the work is intended to force you to practice active leadership in a front-line supervision role (as opposed to managing a "cast of thousands" as they work under a bunch of other front-line supervisors.) To use a more familiar analogy, they're looking for you to be a Patrol Leader, not a Senior Patrol Leader.

Once you have an idea, you need to discuss it with both a member of the benefitting organization and the Scoutmaster (or other Troop Committee Person designated to review Eagle Projects.) This is done before you begin any writing, and is basically a "reality check;" that is, is the project a reasonable one with respect to scope, time, cost and the abilities and skills of your available work-force? Note that many a project dies at this stage, or is significantly altered in order to better fit the guidelines.

Once the concept is finalized, it's (at last) time to begin the writeup of the proposal. This is fairly easy, however, as only three and a half pages of the Workbook need to be completed: pages 1 (cover page), 2 (project description), 3 (planning details/signature page), and the top of page 7 (materials section). Note that it's infinitely preferable to type all data, for neatness, professional appearance, and clarity. The use of a standard word processing program can help avoid typos and grammar/syntax errors, and also enables you to use a laser printer to print the "final" version of your text directly onto the forms (as long as you have the lines and relative spacing properly set up.) If you intend to actually type directly onto the forms, I strongly recommend transcribing from already prepared/corrected text that has been carefully reviewed; that is, don't try and compose it "on the fly" - you'll have a zillion errors.

Page 1 (the cover page) just lists names, addresses, phone numbers, and some minor Troop data. The project description page (2) is essentially a quick summary of what you intend to do, with little in the way of specific detail. The planning details page (3) is where you get into all the details, and is therefore where you've got to spend the most time. Most Scouts tend to badly underwrite this section, and end up getting surprised during the actual project by situations they didn't anticipate, or by how much work was actually involved. You should write it up as if you weren't going to be at the Project at all, and your volunteers would have to do the Project only from your written instructions. The more detail, the better. This is where you should include 4 to 8 photos (with captions) of the project area "as is now;" this helps the readers to visualize what you intend to do, and is immensely beneficial. Other useful figures might include maps of an area, schematic diagrams, copies of flyers you intend to distribute, copies of text you'll be putting in a newsletter, etc., anything that helps the readers understand what you're going to do. As should be obvious by now, it is not necessary to cram all your text into the available space on each page - you can use as many extra blank pages as you need (and you'll clearly need extra pages for your photos and figures.) Larger fonts (for easier reading) are also preferred. The last section (materials, page 7) is actually a continuation of the planning details page - it's kind of a mystery as to why it's on page 7, but that's not important. Again, careful consideration of materials, i.e., equipment, supplies, tools, etc., plus where to get them, and how much they cost, etc. - can prevent some nasty surprises down the road. And again, the more detail, the better.

Once you've got the project written up, it's time to obtain your approval signatures (for page 3.) This is essentially "Reality Check II." You must get - in order - the signatures of (A) A member of the benefitting organization (that is, someone authorized to approve the work you intend to do); (B) The Scoutmaster; (C) The Troop Committee Chairman; and (D) A member of the District Eagle Board. The District Eagle Board is a group of senior-level District Scouters who have volunteered to be monitors of all Eagle Projects conducted in the District. In essence, they are the final "quality control check," and are responsible for ensuring that your project will meet the official guidelines of the BSA (and will not be rejected at the Council or National levels.) This is not a problem with experienced Troops such as ours, but can be with new Troops or with Troops who rarely turn out Eagle Scouts. The Troop has the list of local Eagle Board members; the Scoutmaster or Advancement Chairman will give you their names, addresses and phone numbers. Note that you should make your appointment with one of them well ahead of time, bring at least one of your parents along, and allow plenty of time for discussion. The Eagle Board member will also be sitting on your Board of Review, so it's a very good idea to show up in full Uniform and behave in a polite and respectful manner; i.e., to act like a prospective Eagle Scout.

Once you have all four signatures, you can start in on the actual project. DO NOT START THE PROJECT BEFORE GETTING ALL FOUR SIGNATURES!!!

III) During the Project - Keeping Proper Records

Most Eagle Projects are an exercise in organization - you've got to synchronize getting the people, the supplies, the equipment, the tools, the snacks and drinks, and everything else all to the site all at the right time. A lot harder than it sounds. You also need contingency and "bail-out" plans - what if it rains? What if it's too cold? What if a (critical) tool breaks? What if only half the expected number of people show up? What if your workers don't have transportation? Etc., etc., etc. This is, believe it or not, one of the more valuable aspects of Eagle Projects - an introduction to "real-life" problems - and how you deal with them will go a long way towards determining whether your Eagle Project will go well or poorly.

Equally important is your record keeping. I mentioned above the absolute necessity of getting a small notebook and keeping meticulous time records; well, that goes triple during the project itself, especially if you have people coming and going all day long during each session. By the way, note that travel time and (reasonable) break periods (including snacks and meals) are included in your total time. So is time spent at home (before, after, or between work sessions) performing maintenance on your equipment. Any and all receipts should be kept in a separate folder; in addition, you should immediately mark on the back of each receipt what it was for, and who spent the money. A summary of what tasks were accomplished during each session must also be included in the notebook, and is critical for the eventual writeup of the project; include the problems, successes, and your role in directing each session's work. It's vital to do these writeups immediately after your work session (no matter how tired you are); otherwise, you'll forget all the details. This is particularly important for multi-day projects, where all the work sessions tend to blend together by the end of the project. Finally, you'll need at least one camera (two would be more prudent) in order to take photos during every stage of the project. Remember, you'll eventually be using your photos and notebook in order to paint a picture of what happened - so the better your photos and notes, the better your writeup.

By the way, keeping good time records is also a good overall check on the scope of your project - if you're way short on hours (which can happen), you can expand the scope "on the fly" in order to meet the minimum time requirements. Similarly, if you're wildly over your estimate, you may be able to reduce the scope to something more reasonable. On this latter point, however, two cautionary notes: First, you obviously cannot leave certain projects half-done; you have to finish them no matter how much time it takes. This is known as "live and learn." Second, you cannot alter the project too far from the original scope without getting secondary approvals from the same four people who signed off on your signature page (especially the District Eagle Board Representative.) If you don't complete the project as written, your Eagle can be turned down, no matter how much time you put in. This doesn't mean that you're stuck with an immense project, like it or not - but it does mean that you can't make a unilateral decision to cut your project - you have to talk it over with everyone first. Secondary approvals, by the way, should include a letter which details the approved changes, and signed by all four approving personnel.

Some additional comments on "large" projects: There's nothing wrong with having a project with a lot of hours - 100 man-hours is the suggested minimum, not the average. Across the country, there are hundreds of projects every year that take five hundred or even a thousand man-hours or more to complete. For what it's worth, our average project takes between 150 and 250 man-hours, and our (current) record is 535 man-hours. Finally, I've never seen an Eagle Board yet that wasn't impressed with a project that took more than the minimum 100 hours to complete.

IV) After the Project - The Paperwork

"The job isn't finished `til the paperwork's done." Truer words were never spoken, especially when it comes to Eagle Scout Projects. And the sooner the better, too - it's absolutely amazing how many Scouts will do killer projects, and then let the paperwork languish for months, or even years; some Eagle candidates never get to their writeup, and graduate out of Scouting as Life Scouts. Sad but true. Well, let's get to it....

Once the project has been completed, the first thing you need to get is a formal letter from the benefiting organization which acknowledges and thanks you for your work. This will usually be from the same individual who signed off on your signature page, but can be someone else in a position of authority in the organization. The letter should be addressed and mailed directly to the Scoutmaster; you will need to provide the individual with the Scoutmaster's name and address. The Scoutmaster will in turn relay the letter to you for incorporation into your project workbook.

Next, you need to write letters of thanks to everyone who assisted your project - especially people who donated supplies or lent equipment. Personal cards are best, but a form letter is OK as long as you personally sign each copy (i.e., don't send them out with a xeroxed signature.) Include a copy of a typical Thank You card (or form letter) in your project workbook.

Next, take care of your finances (if any); that is, pay off all remaining bills and/or reimburse everyone who paid for something for your project (but wasn't immediately reimbursed.) Where appropriate, it's best to include reimbursements with your thank you letters. You may wish to call these people first - many will just donate their contributions to the cause, but you should always offer anyway; some may ask you for a formal letter for tax purposes. If the benefiting organization (or some other group) has offered to reimburse you for the costs of the Eagle Project, collate all your receipts and submit a bill to them as soon as possible. [Always keep photocopies of all your receipts, also, for safekeeping and for possible inclusion in your notebook.] When you receive your reimbursement check, write a return letter acknowledging receipt and thanking them for their financial support.

Next, get all your photos developed. Note that you can fit three 3½x5 inch photos on an 8½x11 inch sheet of paper (and they're less expensive), but 4x6 photos show a lot more detail, and tend to xerox a little better - up to you. When you get the photos back (save the receipt!), do a careful sort, selecting an array which does the best job of illustrating your work. Before/after shots are particularly effective, as are shots of your volunteers actually working. Most Eagle Workbooks have between 20 and 40 photos, depending on the total scope of the project. The array should be arranged in chronological order, and numbered, with explanatory captions for each.

Now you're ready to start in on the actual writeup; this is officially page 4 of the workbook, but (again) will almost certainly be many pages of text. The easiest way to do this is to rewrite/ transcribe your notebook summaries, proceeding in chronological order. List the day and date, give a brief summary of what was done (referring to specific photo numbers where appropriate), and explaining any problems or unusual aspects of the job (weather, equipment breakdown, lack of volunteers, etc.) At the end of the summary, list each person who volunteered and what time frame they were present. The final daily summary should list: (A) Total Hours by everyone else; (B) Total Hours by you; and (C) Total Hours. Remember to include travel time, break times, and (when appropriate) equipment cleanup and maintenance time at home. Continue this writeup, day-by-day, through the end of the project.

On to the top of page 6. Under "Assisted By," type up a comprehensive list of everyone who donated time to your project (including yourself), and list the total hours worked by each person in an adjacent column. Again, correlate a final list comprising: (A) Total Time I spent planning the Project; (B) Total Time I spent carrying out the Project; and (C) Total Time spent by others carrying out the Project. These latter values will also be entered on page 7 under "Time Spent," but should (logically) be listed here as well.

On the bottom of page 6, there is a wholly inadequate section for "Changes"; again, use extra pages as appropriate. Changes include everything that was altered from the original proposal. In many cases, this is either "None" or just a sentence or two; in other cases, however, this section can be extensive. This is especially true when the scope of the project was increased or decreased, as discussed above. If you received formal permission to change your project, the signed permission letter listing the changes should be included here as documentation.

On to page 7. The top of this page (Materials) was completed at the beginning of the project; if additional materials or equipment was actually used, add an addendum page listing the additional items. [By the way, this is not just "make-work;" your notebook may be used as a resource for another Scout who is doing a similar project 1, 5 or 20 years from now, and a comprehensive list of needed materials and equipment is invaluable.]

On the bottom of page 7, re-enter the total time values you derived on page 6. The project completion date is formally the date on the acknowledgement/thank you letter from the benefiting organization - not the date that you last worked on the project! [That is, the project isn't done until the benefiting organization says so, not you.] Two last signatures and dates are needed: yours and the Scoutmaster's.

You are now formally finished with the first draft of your project workbook; however, there is one last requirement that Troop 111 asks you to also include, titled: "What I Learned." This used to be a formal requirement for Eagle Project Workbooks before 1990, but has been unfortunately dropped in the latest version. "What I Learned" is actually a synopsis of "what I would do differently if I had to do it again." Again, this is invaluable advice for future prospective Eagle Scouts who may wish to do a similar project. It's also a valuable reflection for you, and helps you to put the entire experience in perspective - what went right, what went wrong, what would I do differently, what did I learn from this? You will do hundreds - maybe even thousands - of "projects" in your lifetime - what will you take from this experience that will help you in the future???